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What's Behind the Gibson Guitar Raids

Posted by
Michael Tadeo
on
May 30, 2013

Yesterday, the CEO of Gibson Guitar Company, Henry Juszkiewicz, joined Fox and Friends on the Fox News Channel to explain the motivation behind the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s two raids on Gibson Guitar Company.

In one raid on August 24, 2011, federal agents with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Justice stormed the Gibson Guitar company claiming it was in violation of the Lacey Act – which is a law first enacted in 1900 to protect native flora and fauna by prohibiting the sale or transportation of wild animals or birds killed under violation of state law. Since its enactment, the Lacey Act has since been amended several times including expansions to include foreign laws, strict liability, and the importation and sale of illegally obtained timber and other plant products.

Agents with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service were claiming that the wood it imported was in violation of foreign (not American law). It is worth noting that several of Gibson’s major competitors used identical exotic wood for their musical instruments without facing any government sanctions. Looking at a long and costly legal battle, Gibson agreed to pay a fine in order to move on to do what it does best – manufacture guitars.

During this whole ordeal, Gibson’s CEO said repeatedly that he felt that Gibson was unfairly targeted.

Now after the IRS Scandal where certain organizations were targeted, as one editorial points out, there is speculation that Gibson could have also been unfairly targeted. Check out the video below.